The present invention relates to applications programs for digital computers, and more specifically to an improved method for selecting actions in such programs which are dependent upon the position of a cursor on a computer display. It is to be understood that when a computer user selects an action, the program performs the selected action.
Many, if not most computer applications programs provide actions which are dependent on the position of a cursor on the computer's display. That is, when the action is selected by the computer user, the program performs the selected action at the display cursor's position. Usability studies have shown that computer users frequently forget to position the display cursor properly prior to selecting such position-dependent actions. When such an error is made, the user must correct the error, resulting in wasted time.
An example of a position-dependent action is the PASTE action provided in word processor programs. The PASTE action allows the computer user to move text within a document and to move text from one document to another. Other word processor examples of such actions are GET, FILL, WORD DELETE, LINE DELETE, INSERT LINE, and SPELLCHECK.
To demonstrate the prior art method for selecting a position-dependent action, we will describe, with reference to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, the manner in which the PASTE action is selected. This description assumes a word processor program which provides "pull-down" menus which display actions which may be performed by the program. This description also assumes that the computer is equipped with a conventional "mouse" with which the computer user may position a pointer.
FIG. 1 illustrates a computer display 1 with an example of a prior art word processor program menu. When the word processor program of this example is operating on the computer, a menu bar 3 is displayed at the top of the display 1. A typical prior art pull-down menu 5 may be displayed by selecting one of a number of menu items, FILE 7, EDIT 9, VIEW 11, OPTIONS 13, and HELP 15.
The pull-down menu 5 lists one-word descriptions of actions which the word processor program can perform: GET 17, PUT 19, CUT 21, COPY 23, and PASTE 25. Two of the listed descriptions, GET 17 and PASTE 25, are actions which depend on the position of the display cursor (not shown).
To move text from one position to another within a displayed document, the user must perform the following procedure:
1. Using the mouse pointer (not shown), the user designates the text to be moved. This is accomplished by placing the mouse pointer at the beginning of the text to be moved, depressing a button on the mouse, keeping the mouse button depressed while moving the pointer to the end of the text to be moved, then releasing the button.
2. To display the pull-down menu 5, the user places the mouse pointer on EDIT 9 and "clicks" (depresses and releases) the mouse button.
3. To delete the designated text from its original location and temporarily store it, the user selects the CUT action by placing the mouse pointer over CUT 21 and clicking the mouse button.
4. To select the PASTE action, the user places the mouse pointer on PASTE 25 and clicks the mouse button. The program then performs the PASTE action by inserting the designated text in the document at the position of the display cursor.
If the display cursor is not properly positioned when the user selects PASTE 25, the designated text will be inserted at an improper position, i.e., where the display cursor is located. To correct this error, the user must position the display cursor in the desired position, then repeat steps 1-4 above, thereby moving the designated text from the improper position to the proper position.
If the user notices that the display cursor is improperly positioned before selecting PASTE 25, the user may perform the following procedure:
1. Remove the menu 5 from the display 1 by clicking the mouse button.
2. Move the display cursor to the desired position.
3. Display the menu 5 by placing the mouse pointer on EDIT 9 and clicking the mouse button.
4. Select the PASTE action by placing the mouse pointer on PASTE 25 and clicking the mouse button.
Unfortunately, the display cursor may not be visible to the user, because, for example, it is positioned in a portion of the document which is not displayed on the display 1, or the pull-down menu 5 covers the position of the display cursor. In either case, the user will have to perform additional steps to verify that the cursor is correctly positioned.
It is an object of the present invention to provide alternatives for selecting position-dependent actions. A further object is to provide the user a visual cue which indicates that an action is a position-dependent action. A further object is to provide the user an additional visual cue that a menu contains a position-dependent action by repositioning the material on which the program is acting, if necessary, to make the position of the display cursor visible to the user when a menu containing a position-dependent action is displayed.